Punch Me Right in the Face
by CowboyK
Summary: A Gamer! inspired story with Jaune receiving the power of the gamer during initiation. Despite being under leveled and under skilled Jaune wants to be able to protect and help his friends, and what better way to do that then learning how to take hits in the form of being a Tank? Will Jaune get strong enough to tank for his friends? Or will his hormones get the best of him?
1. Chapter 1: Begin

**Apologies for ****formatting****, but here's my crack at an introduction chapter to a Gamer fic, enjoy!**

The screen in front of Jaune's eyes hovered just in front of his vision as he made his way into the cafeteria. The cafeteria was silent with the only people present were the staff who he could smell had begun cooking breakfast for the morning. Feeling more awake than he usually would this early in the morning Jaune grabbed some cereal not feeling like waiting for breakfast to be made. He had left extra early despite never being known as an 'early riser' growing up, he didn't really have a choice in the matter anyways having completed his necessary six hours rest needed to start the day and had grown bored with counting the ceiling tiles above his bed. Still, Jaune sipped his coffee, out of habit more than necessity, and pushed his cereal around half-heartedly since his focus was pointed more towards the screen that he let float in front of him.

**Complete Tutorial? **

**Once completed the power of the Gamer shall be yours to wield for the rest of your life.**

**Y/N?**

His head pulsed as he thought about the implications behind completing the quest. On one hand he could hit yes and let this powerful and slightly rude game change how he lived his life completely. On the other hand, he could hit no and go back to life as he knew it, being laughably far behind his peers with almost no training to guide him, but the downside was that he wouldn't have to live life like it was a giant video game. The clear choice seemed clear, but Jaune figured he might as well go over everything 'The Game' that had gotten him to this point.

The Bullhead ride definitely could have gone smoother if Jaune was honest with himself, motion sickness ruining his cool guy image before he could even step onto Beacon grounds. Or at the very least ruining that poor girl's shoes.

Regardless it was with a little bit of anxiety that Jaune stepped off the Bullhead and looked at what was Beacon Academy. Elegant couldn't even begin to define the academy, it had a sleek look to it countering his belief that painted Beacon as an older looking academy, and while technically speaking it was one of the oldest academies it did not look it the slightest. Not that he had seen any of the other academies in person. Regardless, Jaune couldn't keep his mouth closed as he gaped at the mere size of the academy, if he had to bet he would say the small town he was from could probably fit within the Beacon grounds. Sure he'd been to Vale, but there was something different about knowing that if everything went well he could spend the next four years of his life here.

If his sisters knew he was here they would be absolutely jealous of him right now. They loved the rare chances their family of ten got to go out into Vale and take in the magnitude of the town and enjoy the change of pace the city offered. Jaune sighed, his sisters couldn't know, he needed forged transcripts to get into here and he was too embarrassed to tell his family, and scared they would march into Beacon and drag him back home kicking and screaming. They were all so overprotective of him. He knew it showed how much they cared for him, yet he also that that was exactly why they couldn't know he was here. He needed to at least try and get out from under their guard and be what he had always wanted to be, a Huntsman training or no training.

Jaune shook his head, he could admire Beacon later, first he had to find where Professor Ozpin would be speaking to them. His resolve strengthened, and then weakened immediately at the sight of a red haired girl blowing up another who he could only describe as an angel that had fallen and made her way to Beacon. Jaune made his way over, too slow to catch the angel but fast enough to help out the girl in red. He extended his arm to the girl as he introduced himself. She took it and he pulled her up softly, noting her small yet calloused hands that gripped his. Although her face said young maybe even younger than most that he had seen on the Bullhead, she was well trained if her hands told him anything, they were hands that reminded him of his father's that would clap his shoulders when he came back from a successful mission. Yet despite all of that Jaune could see the nervousness the girl gave off and hoped she couldn't read his own in return.

…

Locker, weapons. Jaune was trying to focus on those instead of freaking out about how he was about to enter a Grimm infested forest. He guessed that he was getting close as the numbers on the lockers were closing in on what Beacon assigned him. Lucky for him he saw the angel he saw yesterday, as well as a girl he hadn't see with bright red hair and emerald eyes.

Jaune puffed up his chest slightly as he approached the two catching the tail end of their conversation where the woman in white was offering to be on the same team as the other. Jaune let the two girls know there was space on his team as he introduced himself. The white haired one was Weiss while the girl in red was named Pyrrha. What stunning names for two stunning girls he thought to himself with a slight blush.

The girl now known as Weiss was berating him for not having heard of Pyrrha, though now that she mentioned it Pyrrha seemed familiar. Pumpkin Pete's! She was the face of his favorite cereal, once he pointed that out the girl seemed to deflate slightly, not quite sure what he said to cause that Jaune moved on and asked both girls if they would like to join his scoffed, for what reason Jaune had no idea, but Pyrrha gave no inclination that she would be upset at being on his time. He just hoped whoever he ended up on a team with he could get along with well, and with a smile he grabbed his equipment and excused himself as he made his way towards where the rest of the students were headed.

...

Jaune stood frozen in place as Ozpin explained what exactly was about to happen for initiation into Beacon. He knew it was going to be tough it's Beacon after all, but for him it was downright suicide! Here he was standing on a launchpad, said launchpad that would then launch him into the Emerald forest. Where if he somehow managed to not become a Jaune sized pancake on the forest floor he would then have to find a partner and relic all the while slaying Grimm as I trek through said forest.

Essentially, I'm screwed. I've got little to no training for combat let alone a landing strategy! I raised my hand. "Headmaster? So you're like dropping us off?" Jaune pleaded with the headmaster knowing what the answer was, but he'd be damned if he didn't attempt to bargain for his life.

The headmaster let out a little chuckle much to my chagrin. "No, you'll be falling." I could sense a hint of amusement in his voice as I chuckled nervously. I could step off the pedestal right now and give up on my dreams of being a hero, or I could stay where I am and if my journey ends here then at least I tried. I grit my teeth as Ruby my first friend I made got launched although she looked like she had some sort of strategy based on the determined face she made as she flew down towards the forest.

My knees went weak, but only for an instant as the next they had nothing to be weak on top of as I sailed through the air. If I'm going to die it might as well be with as much dignity as I can muster. I reached for my shield and expanded it, trying to position it under me in a way that my mind said would lessen the impact even if the effort might be in vain. I felt my arc in the air begin heading downwards and my stomach dropped, and not in a airsick kind of way like I'm used to. No I could feel death reaching out towards me, I was going way too fast and there's nothing I can do about it.

I reached the treeline and closed my eyes. I braced for impact. My head bounced off the first tree and I prepared for my journey to end as my arms stiffened under me ready for the impact with the ground to come soon after. To my surprise though I felt my limbs try and hit the ground, but something above me kept me in place as my body groaned as it refused to let me journey end with a splat.

My hoodie! Wait, my hoodie? I opened my eyes and saw a spear keeping me suspended above what would have been my death. I recognized this spear though, it was Pyrrha's the Pumpkin Pete girl.

"Thank you!" I yelled out to the forest.

"I'm sorry" I heard someone call back, Pyrrha most likely. For what she had to be sorry for U had no clue, but I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and hung around hoping Grimm wouldn't reach me before Pyrrha could.

A few minutes later I heard a rustling and out from the bushes, I crossed my fingers that it was human made rustling and my prayers were answered when out came the white haired beauty known as Weiss. I put on my manliest voice and called out.

"Hey!" Weiss looked up let out a scowl and immediately turned the other way. Her loss I guess. I shrugged and continued to count leaves waiting for my savior to free me from my position on this tree.

It took only a couple more minutes for Pyrrha to appear a bright smile on her face no doubt at the fact that she managed to not impale me in the slightest.

"Do you have any spots left on your team Jaune?" I groaned internally already regretting asking her and Weiss early about that earlier. I nodded my head returning the smile that still hadn't left Pyrrha's face. The Amazon pulled the spear out with surprising speed causing me to gracefully land on my face. I popped back up trying to play it cool while Pyrrha tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle at my performance. Maybe dad was wrong maybe I can make friends by being myself? Nah cool guy act has been doing me well so far don't want to push it and show girls the 'real me'. I laughed at myself silently before pointing in the direction Weiss left in and giving Pyrrha a questioning look. She shrugged so I led the two of us on in a direction I hoped was as safe as a Grimm infested forest could be.

We were walking through the woods now in relative silence not wanting to alert any Grimm to our location. I couldn't have got a better partner I decided as we walked, not only was she nice enough to save my life, according to Weiss she was pretty strong which was someone I was definitely going to need at my side if I'm going to survive initiation then Beacon after. Not to mention she's insanely gorgeous Jaune thought letting a little red show on his face against his will.

It was due to him being lost in his thoughts that caused him to run right into the branch Pyrrha held forward for his smacking his cheek before he could react. He felt a slight wetness on his face and his hands told him it was blood after he felt the cut on instinct. Pyrrha looked shocked for some reason.

"Just a simple scratch don't worry about it Pyrrha" He said assuming it was just his partner being overly nice.

"I know but why didn't your aura block it Jaune?" Aura? What the heck is that? He must have shown the confusion he was feeling on his face as Pyrrha stopped to explain it to him. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sounds important for a hunter in training to have, which is why I definitely one hundred percent have that thing you just said." I said smiling weakly as Pyrrha shook her head chuckling again which she did a lot around him. Pyrrha took a breath and let a more serious look wash over her as she began.

"You don't have your aura unlocked Jaune." he shook his head feeling slightly embarrassed. "Would you like me to unlock it for you?" Swallowing my pride I nodded and made eye contact with Pyrrha. "Alright, close your eyes. I'm going to unlock it now." He followed her orders silently. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality…"

The world stopped. He felt the urge to freak out but that feeling was quickly suppressed and he felt more calm as if something was preventing him from freaking out at the fact that time was frozen.

The leaves were what tipped him off, aside from the fact that his partner was frozen in the middle of unlocking his aura it was the leaves that were freaking him out. One moment the world was alive and moving the next he felt like he had pushed the pause button on time as the gentle sway of the trees gave way to an unnatural silence that made the forest around him feel fake.

After taking a moment to take in his surroundings a text box appeared in front of his eyes.

**Welcome to the Game would you like to begin the tutorial?**

**Y/N?**

What happens if I press no? As if on cue more text appeared.

**Welcome to the Game would you like to begin the tutorial?**

**Y/N?**

**Failure to accept will result in you becoming trapped in this instant of time forever**

Was this his semblance? Was it sentient? He had so many questions right now, and all the time in the world to think about them he joked. The Game as he decided to call it flashed the screen at him. Not wanting to be trapped in time he physically tapped the 'Y' in front of him and accepted. He felt as if he was filled with energy for a moment before another screen flashed to life in front of him.

**Quest Accepted!**

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Level: 0**

**Title: Newbie**

**Exp:0%**

**AP: 500/500**

**HP: 100/100**

**Stats:**

**STR: 15**

**CON:15**

**DEX: 15**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 15**

**CHA: 15**

**LUCK: 5**

**POINTS: 0**

**Skills:**

**Gamer's Mind (Passive) Level (Max): The power of The Game allows you to think logically, keep a peaceful state of mind, as well as immunity to psychological effects.**

**Gamer's Body (Passive) Level (Max): The power of The Game prevents dismemberment or disembowelment. As long as HP does not equal zero fatal moves will not kill you**

Jaune had to squint but at the bottom of his stats screen he read a little disclaimer.

**If you choose to accept the power of The Game, after the tutorial your stats will be adjusted to match how you really are. Also any stat changes will be carried over.**

Jaune hoped his real stats weren't as low as his tutorial stats. He had played games that gave the player a stronger character to play the tutorial then nerfed you once you reached the real game. It wasn't a real video game anyways so he chose not to worry about it. The part about stat upgrades was annoyingly vague, he hoped it was one of those games where you could level up your stats by doing something associated to them like lifting weights for strength or

studying for intelligence.

**By attempting to understand how the game works you have gained +1 to WIS**

Well that pretty much proved his line of thinking, he'd have to experiment but he had a feeling there wasn't just one way to level up any stat. He filtered through the multiple screens that all opened when he accepted the quest as The Game called it and opened up the next one after Skills. Jaune paused for a moment as a realization hit him, can he just think the same thing over and over again and his WIS stat will go up infinitely?

**By attempting to outplay The Game you have gained +1 to WIS**

**By not realizing that The Game would never allow you to do this you have lost -1 to WIS**

Dang he had hoped the game was working with him. But if the laugh track that played in his ears after he thought that was anything to go by then The Game's sense of humor was the negative to this power.

Jaune opened the next tab.

**Relationships: **

**Pyrrha (Partner): thinks you're a great guy.**

**Ruby (Friend): thinks you're a good friend and nice guy.**

**Weiss (Lower than acquaintance): Thinks you are annoying. **

**Yang (Sister's Friend): You threw up on her shoes dude. Pray to the Gods that it wasn't her hair.**

He felt a little dirty being able to see how others thought of him, but accepted that that is just how his life worked now. Jaune shrugged at the passage for Yang he didn't know how The Game knew that she loved her hair a lot, but he was going to assume that it was correct and sent a silent prayer.

**By listening to The Game closely you have gained +1 LUCK**

Jaune grinned, maybe the game wasn't going to hate him as much as it says, a cold sweat came down his back as he thought that, but Jaune paid no mind to it. Jaune could already tell The Game would take some getting used to, but he loved video games so he figured he could get used to this.

Jaune thought about the next screen and it popped up automatically, he breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he wouldn't have to thumb the air like an idiot every time he wanted to interact with The Game as he read the screen.

**Quests:**

**Tutorial:**

**Complete Initiation: In order to get into Beacon you have to complete initiation.**

**Reward: 5000 Lien and 10000 Experience**

**Failure: Death, slow and painful.**

Where was that failure screen earlier! Not like it would have changed his mind but still he could already feel like The Game had a life of its own. By the time Jaune read through all the screens in front of him he felt like he had a basic grasp on the game that was now a part of him and closed the screens as he thought about that very action happening. He was glad it was intuitive to say the least.

Oh yea he was at initiation he almost forgot! Jaune looked to Pyrrha who was still stuck mid sentence, he wondered what her level was compared to him.

**New Skill Discovered!**

**Observe (Active)(Level 1): You can look at things and tell what they are, not much else yet. No Cost to Activate**

Jaune said the word observe in his head as he looked at Pyrrha.

**Name: Pyrrha Nikos**

**Level: ?**

**Title: Invincible Girl**

Jaune's mind raced at the implications of the question mark, he didn't know if Pyrrha was too high a level or his Observe skill was too low a level. He figured he'd try it on a lot of different people and learn by doing instead of torturing himself with an endless amount of 'what ifs'.

What about the fact that he's frozen in time? Jaune was once again made painfully aware of the stillness that frozen time brought. As he shuddered at the thought of being trapped in time he got a notification that said **Returning to Real World in Five** and the notification began to count down.

All of the sudden Jaune got nervous, how was it going to be different after all this? **4 **Did he even have what it takes? **3** All the questions he should have been asking came back to him, and just like that the nervousness went away just as fast as it came **2** Gamer's mind had it's perks he realized as he steeled himself for the rest of initiation. **1** **Start.**

**And there's the first chapter. This is more of a prologue and although I know there hasn't been any flare to this story yet I wanted to see if anybody would be willing to read the story I have been planning out for a little bit. Going off the description without spoiling too much, this is a Gamer story, but I am going to focus on Jaune being of the class tank and his journey to become stronger, but I don't want this story to be as serious as this chapter might lead you to think. There will be humor, and a lot of it at the expense of Jaune. **

**I'm going to be following the story of the show, but with Jaune's new semblance there will be some divergence from the plot as you could expect. Pairing wise I don't know where I'll go just yet, I favor some ships over the other, but depending on where I take the plot I could do a pairing I've never done before so don't ask about that.**

**If you want to read more leave a fav, follow, or review it means a lot to me. I have some cool things in mind for this story so I hope you guys will support me. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Initiation

**By working yourself to your absolute limits you have gained +1 CON**

Jaune rolled his eyes at the game. They had only been walking for a couple minutes making their way through a denser part of the forest, and while he had broken a sweat that was due to the heat not how hopelessly out of shape he was. Although he already did feel stronger now with The Game giving him some buffer stats. Which led him to believe that he was in fact hopelessly out of shape.

Time unfroze as it said it would, but Jaune hadn't realized how heavily he had been leaning on Pyrrha as he read. So when he came back to reality he fell forward into Pyrrha's arms or more specifically her breast plate. His face had gone beet red as he shot an apology out quickly, thankfully Pyrrha took no offense and assured him that unlocking one's aura can cause things like that to happen, although Jaune noted a tint of red show on her cheeks.

After that they walked on filling each other in on little details about themselves like where they were from and why they came to Beacon. With Jaune using Observe on random objects as they went along leveling up the skill once as they walked and talked. Jaune naturally was forced to lie through his teeth as he explained how he ended up at Beacon. When he finished explaining he saw a pop-up in the corner of his vision, and when he opened it he saw he had gained a new skill.

**New Passive Discovered!**

**Lying (Passive) (Level 1): You can tell lies, not very well, but you can tell them**

Jaune thought of himself as an honest person, whole lying to get into Beacon aside he felt a little dirty at receiving that, and vowed to level it up as little as he could.

Jaune came back to their conversation and realised he had lost where the conversation had headed and Pyrrha was looking at him to answer. Jaune looked at his surroundings and saw Pyrrha gesturing slightly towards it.

"Yea lets go in there the relic could definitely be in there" Pyrrha showed some signs of hesitation which Jaune squashed by heading into the cave.

**Lying has leveled to Level 2**

Well so much for that idea. Not wanting to look week Jaune plowed on through the cave hoping to grab the relic and get out of there as quickly as possible.

"Jaune?" He kept going despite the lack of light in the cave.

"Jaune?" ignoring her calls he saw something bright and made a beeline for what could only be the relic.

"No need to worry Pyrrha, i got the relic!" Jaune said as he grabbed the golden object.

**New Skill Unlocked:**

**Danger Sense (Level 1): You can sense dangerous intent in a 1 meter radius around you. This skill costs nothing and activates on reaction to more serious intent and can sense lesser danger if manually activated.**

**Danger Sense Triggered!**

Before Jaune could make heads or tails of the new skill he was lifted into the air and a screech threatened to rupture his Jaune had eyes on the back of his head he would have been able to see the girl silently facepalm as she began running towards where they had entered the cave.

Jaune on the other hand exited the cave a different way, assuming Observe couldn't lie to him then Jaune was currently riding a Deathstalker, ignoring the level up dings Jaune read.

**Observe (Level 4):**

**Name: Deathstalker**

**Title: Cave Dweller**

**Level: 20**

**New Passive Discovered! **

**Grimm Identification (Level 1): You know the names of some Grimm, possess little knowledge of what they can do, and can see obvious weaknesses**

Tightening his grip on what he could now tell was a stinger Jaune felt panic bubble up inside of him only for the wave to be suppressed as fast as it threatened to come. Silently thanking Gamer's Mind Jaune assessed his options as the Deathstalker burst through the entrance of the cave.

He attempted to kick the tail seeing as it was the only thing in his range and he whiffed wildly as he swayed from side to side. Jaune considered his position, that of holding onto a Deathstalker stinger and decided at the best course of action was most likely being not on the stinger any longer. His hands sweat as he kept vying for purchase on the sleek stinger. In an effort to keep his grip Jaune felt his hands graze the actual tail and felt flesh. Something in his mind triggered and he remembered that the tail and the eyes were the weakest spots on its body.

"Pyrrha shoot the tail!" Jaune yelled at the girl who he was technically chasing, but not by choice.

Without breaking a sweat Pyrrha readied and aimed her rifle at the tail moving to the side to avoid peppering Jaune with bullets. Jaune couldn't help but gape at the fluidity and grace her movements showed as if she was born to fight, which she very well might have Jaune didn't know.

His master plan was to have the Deathstalker try and stab Pyrrha, and when it missed he would glide off the stinger land with a roll and run alongside her. What was supposed to happen did not match even in the slightest with what actually happened.

**New Passive Discovered!**

**Battle Strategy (Level 3): You can come up with a plan of attack, sure you might have seen it in a movie, but movies have to be based off something right?**

The discovery screen popped up and then was immediately cast aside as his plan went awry. Jaune felt the stinger start to move and prepared for his move by weakening his grasp a grave error as instead of directly stabbing at it's attacker, the Grimm decided to wind back, something that Jaune didn't account for in his master plan. This quick wind back mixed with the weak grip led to Jaune going flying through the air like he had just been not twenty minutes ago.

To his credit Jaune didn't scream as he ripped through the air, the only sound he let out was an 'oof' as he collided with a red blur. The first collison didn't hurt too much as it was flesh on flesh, but the second hit which was Jaune hitting the tree caused him to gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. Jaune rubbed the stars out of his eyes only to find Ruby doing the same thing across from him. In the corner of his vision he saw that he had lost 200 AP which he assumed was his Aura. As the two sat there for a moment dazed Jaune read through his new skills.

**New Passive Discovered!**

**Pain Tolerance (Level 1): Pain still hurts a lot, but you are getting used to the life of a Huntsman. (1% Less Damage)**

Pain tolerance then levelled up twice to level three, but the flavor text as it was called in normal video games didn't change. He figured they'd update as they got to certain milestones. He figured he would come to love that passive as even though aura prevents cuts and bruises it was obvious that the pain was still there when he hit the tree.

**New Skill Discovered!**

**Aura Control (Level 1): You can use aura to heal yourself and prevent major damage. That's about it. **

The Game didn't indicate if it was a passive skill or an active skill which was odd, but besides that it seemed like a vital skill to have and level up. Once he got through those screens he looked at Ruby.

"Hey Ruby?" Ruby scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.

"Uh, the sky?" Jaune laughed,

"And uh why were you up there Ruby?" Ruby whispered something under her breath that Jaune couldn't quite catch. He cupped a hand around his ear to let her know that he hadn't heard her.

"Well Weiss and I were sort of riding a Nevermore." Before Jaune could even respond a screech assaulted his ears causing him to look up. Jaune cast observe as he watched the giant bird soar across the sky.

**Name: Nevermore**

**Title: Taxi**

**Level: 20**

Observe levelled up again to level five, he went into his abilities tab and opened up the skill.

**Observe (Level 5): You can tell more about what you look at, now you can see which stat is it's strongest if it is a living being. No luck if it's an object though.**

Jaune immediately used Observe again on the Nevermore.

**Name: Nevermore**

**Title: Unenthused Shuttle**

**Level: 20**

**Greatest Stat: STR**

That made sense to him as it was too big to be nimble so its blows have to be powerful when they do land. Ignoring the two levels he gained in Grimm Identification he focused back in on his conversation.

"So Weiss is up there?" Jaune looked at Ruby, or tried to as the girl was already off and down towards where he could now see more students gathered around. His vision went back up to the Nevermore and he saw a white figure now falling. It had to be Weiss, and she was falling too fast to be safe even for someone much more trained than him.

Jaune stood up and looked around, no one else was going to catch her. The branch under him stood sturdy under his full weight. So Jaune lined up his shot and leapt out of the tree to where he hoped Weiss would fall. Luckily he was correct and caught Weiss as she fell, unluckily gravity, momentum, and pain were still a thing Jaune remembered as he felt himself hit the ground, and Weiss hit him.

Wheezing Jaune let out,

"This is not what I had in mind when I wanted a beautiful girl to fall for me."

**Your pathetic charm has helped you gain +1 CHA**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Weiss!**

The Game refused to give Jaune a break as he laid on the ground watching his AP go down another fifty.

Weiss's only response was to cross her arms and head over to Ruby. Who was already apologizing as Weiss began yelling at her for leaving her up there.

Spitting some dirt out of his mouth Jaune stood up. His pants were ripped slightly, but his pride was intact as he made his way over to the girls. He noticed now that his aura was regenerating slowly as he had gained about 15 AP since he ran into Ruby. Also he had gained another two levels in pain tolerance as well as another one in aura control.

Drawing his attention back to the scene in front of him Jaune saw a Grimm break through the treeline. Jaune observed it.

**Name: Ursa**

**Title: Deceased**

**Level: 10**

Jaune's confusion lasted about as long as the Ursa's life did as it fell to the ground with a girl dressed in pink he recognized from last night atop its back. Behind the Ursa was an exhausted boy who had his hands on his knees understandably from trying to follow the Ursa.

Next Pyrrha burst through the treeline followed closely by the Deathstalker from before.

In the wake of this chaos Ruby's sister, who Jaune remembered her name as Yang literally ignited in rage.

"Could everyone just chill out for two seconds!" As it turned out, that was impossible as after a second of standing still awkwardly Pyrrha was thrown into the rest of the group gathered at the relic by the Deathstalker.

Instantly Ruby dashed forward faster than he'd ever seen someone move before towards the scorpion like monster, only to be batted away like a ragdoll as she tried to hit it.

Jaune's knees buckled as then the Nevermore circled around and the Deathstalker charged towards the group while Ruby tried to make her retreat. He could do nothing but stare as Ruby heroically ran away. Jaune watched horrified as the Nevermore threw a volley of feathers at the girl who looked tiny in comparison to the giant bird as giant feathers rained down from above. The volley missed her body thankfully, but one caught her cape and pinned it to the ground. Jaune felt sick to his stomach as Ruby pulled frantically on her cape as the Deathstalker reached her and jabbed its stinger towards her small frame.

Jaune felt his soul radiate through his body, and his breath caught in his throat as energy pulsated through his entire being. This feeling he felt inside was completely foreign to him even when his aura was unlocked he never felt such pure energy build up all across his body. The energy brought along with it a sense of purpose, he knew that no matter how far behind he was he had to get strong enough to protect his friends. He envisioned a giant shield carried by him with Ruby behind it safely. He felt another wave of energy come over him, and for a moment he was worried time was going to freeze again, but something else happened.

A giant shield plated entirely in gold appeared out of thin air in front of Ruby. The stinger bounced off the shield with a thud, bending the tip of the stinger so that it now pointed more inwards than outwards. and as it reeled back in pain Weiss was already on Ruby and froze the Deathstalker in place.

**Main Class Discovered!**

**Tank: While they might not do the most damage, that isn't why Tanks are on the battlefield. Their purpose is to draw the attention of as many enemies as possible in order for the more damage oriented fighters to thin the battlefield. **

**Title Unlocked: The Shield**

**The Shield: When active you gain 20% Constitution when you are fighting with one or more people.**

**(Subclasses Unlock at Player Level 10)**

**New Class Active Unlocked!**

**The People's Shield: You're desire to protect others can generate a giant shield that can protect someone blocking any attack under the sun. Free to Use (Cooldown: 1 day). This ability does not need to be thought of to be used instinct alone can activate it. Blocks attacks for a short duration, and can protect multiple others as long as they are in close proximity. Can't use on self**

**New Class Active Unlocked!**

**Alarming Shout (Level 1): You can yell, and draw the attention of weaker enemies (No Cost).**

**New Class Passive Discovered!**

**Heroic Tolerance (Level 1): You might not look like a hero, but you can act like one! You take a little less damage when taking hits for others. (5% Less Damage)**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Yang!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Ruby!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Weiss!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Blake!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Ren!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Nora!**

Tank, while not his first choice when playing video games back home. The word as it slowly disappeared from his vision felt like something he had been missing ever since his aura was unlocked. He equipped the title and looked at his tutorial stats.

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Level: 0**

**Title: The Shield**

**Exp:0%**

**AP: 265/500**

**HP: 100/100**

**Stats:**

**STR: 15 **

**CON:15 + 20% (18)**

**DEX: 15**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 15**

**CHA: 15**

**LUCK: 5**

**POINTS: 0**

Jaune knew these were tutorial stats, but he still liked the thought of Constitution being his strongest stat. As his dad always said, 'Endurance is everything my boy' then his dad would usually wink at his mother for some reason and she would get all red in the face. Probably an inside joke between them or something. Nonetheless the advice was relevant now more than ever, and paired with his Heroic Tolerance he would need to be able to take a beating. Jaune would also need to figure out which stat helps his AP go up, since he assumed that CON would definitely raise his HP.

It was Pyrrha who spoke up and got his attention.

"Well it looks like you've found your semblance already Jaune, that's amazing!"

He just nodded his head blushing slightly at the praise from his partner, making a mental note to read up on aura and all things related to it if he survived initiation. Jaune's attention quickly focused back onto the Deathstalker which was attempting to break out of the ice, and it looked absolutely pissed.

"We should get out of here while we have the chance, everybody grab a relic and lets get out of here, there's no point in fighting if we don't have to"

No one argued as the Nevermore screeched again as if to confirm Jaune's worry. Jaune ignored the pop-up that flashed in front of him and took off in a sprint once Pyrrha grabbed their relic.

While his plan to run and live another day worked well initially, Grimm apparently didn't give up that easily, especially after you piss them off. Ignoring the extra level in Grimm knowledge and the two in Constitution, Jaune saw the Nevermore cut off their path forward, and the Deathstalker approaching from behind.

The eight of them made their way towards a set of ruins linked together by a bridge as the Nevermore circled overhead. No one needed to point out that they had to fight, as their path was blocked by a giant cliff on the other side of the ruins. They would have to fight in order to pass initiation. Jaune shuddered at the thought for a moment, before his mind cleared for the battle.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had taken the lead as they crossed over the bridge and began firing at the Nevermore as it flew by taking the bridge behind Jaune and who he had just met Nora. With Pyrrha and Ren being trapped on the side with the Deathstalker.

"Nora! These four can handle the Nevermore, we gotta get over to the other side" Nora's face lit up in a grin that did not make Jaune feel good. She screamed with glee as she swung her giant hammer down and launched him across the gap falling on his face in the process.

**New Active Unlocked!**

**Featherfalling (Level 1): Upon activating you fall a lot slower than normal. (Cost 40 AP per second)**

Ignoring the irony that falling on his face unlocked that skill Jaune pushed himself up and drew his sword and shield as Nora made her way over behind him. No more running away from the fight, time to earn his place in Beacon.

The beast was fast for its size as it finally reached the four of them. Like clockwork the other three began firing and moving to meet the creature. Jaune raised his shield and charged. Pyrrha fired with ease at the face while Ren peppered bullets wherever he could, followed by Nora launching grenades onto its thick armor. While it looked cool Jaune noticed that it didn't seem to be taking too much damage from this assault. The others noticed as well as the shifted their weapons from ranged to melee. Ren didn't want to get into melee range as he was already being pressured enough by the stinger. Which while not pointed at them anymore after his shield warped it, the speed it could attack at made it more of a deadly blunt object instead of a stinger.

Jaune approached alongside Pyrrha towards the claws of the beast, Pyrrha jumped out of the way of an armored claw while Jaune was too slow and was forced to block. The weight behind the blow was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and while it wasn't perfect he managed to keep from being knocked off his feet. Another notification flashed in his vision. Jaune cursed at the game wondering why it didn't have some sort of battle mode.

**Combat Mode Enabled**

**Notifications will be paused until combat has ended.**

Sighing at The Game he focused back onto combat. Jaune took a swing at the claw he just deflected only for it to bounce off giving his entire arm a shock as its momentum was halted. His Grimm Identification knowledge told him that Deathstalkers armor is nigh impenetrable, but it has a few exposed areas that are susceptible to damage. He felt a plan coming together in his head as he dodged a claw and gave up some ground not wanting to block another hit like that as his AP had gone down about 50 from the block and then trying to hit the armor.

Jaune called out to Ren as he pointed at the stinger, the man understood what he meant and moved his fire up towards where the stinger meets the tail. His fire loosened the stinger and Pyrrha threw her shield at the stinger freeing it from the tail, the stinger bounced harmlessly off the armor of the Deathstalker and rolled to the side.

"Ren, I need that!" Ren sprinted towards the discarded stinger and threw it quickly towards Jaune. Throwing left him wide open and a swipe of its claws sent Ren out of the fight with a loud crack as he became acquainted with the side of the ruins.

As it flew through the air Jaune dropped his weapons and caught the stinger, careful not to stab himself on the pointy end, which was pointed perpendicular to the base of the stinger, useless for the Deathstalker, but useful for someone with an insane idea. Jaune picked up his shield and tucked the stinger under his arm.

"Pyrrha keep it busy! Nora, I need you to send me up, and I need you to capitalize right after I roll away, got it?" Jaune yelled as he jumped straight up and put the shield under his body.

"With pleasure! Coming right up." As Nora spoke she swung and sent Jaune a solid fifty feet in the air. Way too high, but thanks to his featherfalling ability Jaune activated it for two seconds draining 80 AP, but coming down twenty feet and allowing himself to position his body over center mass of the Deathstalker. Jaune let go of his shield and deactivated featherfalling hoping his AP and HP were high enough to survive this fall.

Jaune fell faster and faster as he fell ten feet, then twenty feet, then as he approached he readied himself and held the stinger out. The stinger pierced the armor easily going all the way until the sharp part ended. However gravity existed, and Jaune was quickly reminded after a moment of relief that his plan was working as his chest hit the part he had been holding onto for dear life not twenty minutes before. All the air in his lungs was expelled as he heard a crack from somewhere inside his body. His top and bottom half folded around the stinger and he spit some blood out onto the white armor under him, Jaune wanted nothing more than to let himself hang there another moment, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste and we weakly rolled to the side and slid off the side of the beast.

Not a moment too soon as the instant he rolled aside Nora delivered an overhead strike using her hammer as, well a hammer, and nailed the stinger through the beast killing it immediately. Beaten and bruised Jaune slowly made his way to a stand clutching his abdomen as he did so, in time to see Ruby beheading the Nevermore in one go.

With the battle over, Nora rushed over to Ren, and Pyrrha rushed over to check on him. Wiping the blood from his lips Jaune gave Pyrrha a little smile and a thumbs up to show he was okay. Laughing for a moment at the craziness of the whole situation before groaning in pain as his chest burned at the action. Pyrrha let the concern show on her face as she put an arm around Jaune stabilizing him. He smiled through the pain, he had done it, Jaune Arc certified weakling until today had helped kill a Deathstalker and passed initiation.

**You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!**

With how much affiliation they were gaining Pyrrha and him were definitely on the way to becoming great friends. He'd have to see what their relationship status was when he got back to Beacon.

Feeling a shot of pain with every step Jaune looked at his HP and noticed it was down to thirty, way too close for comfort. While in hindsight the plan worked, it was reckless to say the least and could have ended worse if he never unlocked feather fall.

**By reflecting on your poor choices you have gained +1 WIS**

The crack he heard was definitely a broken rib if that wasn't enough the burning in his lungs confirmed it. Jaune did his best to hide the pain, and although he didn't know much about aura Jaune had faith it would fix him right up given a little bit of time. So he bit down on his hoodie and kept walking in line with Pyrrha.

With the memory of initiation still fresh in his mind Jaune found himself sat in the cafeteria, his ribs had healed after a good night's sleep feeling like the injury had never happened. Jaune rubbed his chest remembering the impact he took less than a day ago. It wasn't until he got back to the dorm after being made team leader that Jaune saw the status screen that indicated that he had two broken ribs actually, not that it mattered anymore, but it taught him a valuable lesson to look at his stats screen to track his AP and HP during combat.

Upon disengaging combat mode what felt like a million notifications flooded his screen mostly level ups and new skills, the most important being the quest complete screen which hovered somewhere a little in front of his eyes.

He now had a Lien tab that unlocked under his stats contained a nice amount of lien that he did not have before. As it turns out 'Combat Mode' turned on auto-looting he got a lot of lien and what he guessed was a special item after they killed the Deathstalker.

He didn't know why he was even thinking this hard about his decision, The Game enabled him to turn into the hero he grew up aspiring to be, and besides it already had saved his life, looking a gift horse in the mouth was definitely something he was not going to do.

Despite the fact that he felt he should've been a little more worried about turning his life permanently into a video game Jaune couldn't find it in him to fight the smile that grew on his face as he finally accepted the power of The Gamer into his life.

**Just a little housekeeping, I will be doing numbers for skills that need it, but I'm trying to change skills flavor texts as they level up to show progress more than numbers as I feel like that makes the world feel more real as opposed to being focused on the numbers side of The Game (although if its a really unpopular decision I could probably change that, but I don't think I will). Relationships won't have a number and that's final as I feel like that puts a restriction on the number of positive interactions Jaune can have until a girl has to fall head over heels for him. Love it? Hate it? Let me know by dropping a review or Fav/Following it means a lot to me as I was definitely more proud of this chapter than the last one.**

**Here is the updated stats sheet right before he completes the tutorial, from now on only new skills titles will be displayed after stats as well as relationship status' that change just to prevent the end of chapters being ridiculously long. (Also I haven't forgotten about stat upgrades they will be noted at the beginning of the next chapter)**

**P.S If I forgot anything I apologize I had a crazy week so I was writing this whenever I could get the chance so sometimes I had to go into my other doc and update stuff later so there we go there's my excuse. See you next time!**

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Level: 0**

**Title: The Shield**

**Class: Tank**

**Exp:0%**

**AP: 500/500**

**HP: 100/100**

**Stats:**

**STR: 15**

**CON:15 +20% (18)**

**DEX: 15**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 15**

**CHA: 15**

**LUCK: 5**

**POINTS: 0**

**Lien: 5,000**

**Skills:**

**Gamer's Mind (Passive) Level (Max): The power of The Game allows you to think logically, keep a peaceful state of mind, as well as immunity to psychological effects.**

**Gamer's Body (Passive) Level (Max): The power of The Game prevents dismemberment or disembowelment. As long as HP does not equal zero fatal moves will not kill you.**

**Observe (Level 5): You can tell more about what you look at, now you can see which stat is it's strongest if it is a living being. No luck if it's an object though. No Cost to Activate.**

**Lying (Passive) (Level 2): You can tell lies, not very well, but you can tell them.**

**Danger Sense (Level 1): You can sense dangerous intent in a 1 meter radius around you. This skill costs nothing and activates on reaction to more serious intent and can sense lesser danger if manually activated.**

**Grimm Identification (Level 1): You know the names of some Grimm, possess little knowledge of what they can do, and can see obvious weaknesses**

**Battle Strategy (Level 7): You can come up with a plan of attack, studying and experience on the battlefield has taught you a few tricks, but you still have a lot to learn**

**Pain Tolerance (Level 13): Pain still hurts a lot, but you are getting used to the life of a Huntsman. (13% Less Damage)**

**Aura Control (Level 4): You can use aura to heal yourself and prevent major damage. That's about it.**

**Leadership (Level 10): You're a natural born leader, people tend to listen to you when you are making a plan.**

**Featherfalling (Level 2): Upon activating you fall a lot slower than normal. (Cost 35 AP per second)**

**Shield Proficiency (Level 3): You are getting better at blocking things with the item designed specifically to do that, good job. **

**Sword Proficiency (Level 1): Pointy end goes toward evil monsters.**

**Class Skills:**

**The People's Shield: You're desire to protect others can generate a giant shield that can protect someone blocking any attack under the sun. Free to Use (Cooldown: 1 day). This ability does not need to be thought of to be used instinct alone can activate it. Blocks attacks for a short duration, and can protect multiple others as long as they are in close proximity. Can't use on self when alone.**

**Alarming Shout (Level 1): You can yell, and draw the attention of weaker enemies (No Cost).**

**Heroic Tolerance (Level 1): You might not look like a hero, but you can act like one! You take a little less damage when taking hits for others. (5% Less Damage)**

**Relationships: **

**Pyrrha (Partner): Thinks you're a great friend and good partner**

**Ruby (Friend): Thinks you're a great friend and a nice guy.**

**Weiss (Acquaintance): Thinks you are annoying, but doesn't hate you. **

**Yang (Sister's Friend): Thinks you are a respectable guy for saving her sister**

**Blake (Acquaintance): Thinks you aren't a bad guy**

**Ren (Teammate): Thinks you are his teammate**

**Nora (Teammate): Thinks you are her teammate**

**Titles:**

**Newbie: lol Noob**

**Forger: When active items you create seem 20% more legitimate**

**The Shield: When active you gain 20% Constitution when you are fighting with one or more people.**

**Fearless Leader: When active your team is more likely to listen to you.**


	3. Another Beginning

**I'm glad to see this story is getting pretty good reception, thanks for reading. As for some of the Gamer related I'll answer those in the form of this chapter. Enjoy!**

If there was one word to define how Jaune felt after choosing to accept the power of The Gamer it would be underwhelmed. In the back of his mind he was expecting some sort of feeling of power to course through him, but all he got was a little tingle in his left thigh, and even that might have just been a muscle spasm. Eight level-up notifications in total flashed in front of him, yet he felt almost no different at the end of it. That said he gained a new class skill at level five.

**Shield Bash (Level 1): Hit back! Surprise an opponent by turning your defense into offense. Stuns humans and lower level Grimm for a brief moment. (Active: No cost)**

While Jaune wasn't sure why that was a skill when he could easily use his shield to attack himself, he let it go seeing as he's such a low level. Turning his attention to his stats Jaune rolled his eyes.

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Level: 8**

**Title: The Shield**

**Class: Tank**

**Exp: 20%**

**AP: 500/500**

**HP: 160/160**

**Stats:**

**STR: 10**

**CON:12 +20% (14) (In Combat)**

**DEX: 8**

**INT: 8**

**WIS: 11**

**CHA: 7**

**LUCK: 3**

**POINTS: 40**

Of course he didn't feel any stronger, because he was weaker, in every category. The only saving grace was the forty points Jaune had to distribute where he wanted doing the math he figured that each level awarded about five skill points for him to distribute.

**For racking your mind to figure out simple arithmetic you have gained +1 INT**

This was the rest of his life now wasn't it? Facepalming, Jaune decided a course of action for his points, since he didn't exactly want to spend them all at once in case some stats are easier than others to level up which was his current hypothesis. Until then he figured his best course of action was to simply get his stats to where they were during his 'tutorial'.

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Level: 8**

**Title: The Shield**

**Class: Tank**

**Exp: 20%**

**AP: 760/760**

**HP: 190/190**

**Stats:**

**STR: 15**

**CON:15 +20% (18) (In Combat)**

**DEX: 15**

**INT: 15**

**WIS: 15**

**CHA: 7**

**LUCK: 3**

**POINTS: 15**

This time Jaune felt a slight power surge as his body powered up back to how it was a couple minutes earlier. Though the back and forth was making him queasy threatening to bring his cheerios back into their bowl.

Despite his urge to vomit, Jaune did a double take at his stats and the math didn't add. His INT before only gave him a boost of twenty AP, yet now it had gone up way more than it should have. Looking through his stats Jaune figured out the problem, he had looked right over the class passive he unlocked at the same time he unlocked Shield Bash.

**Tank's Body (Passive): Your body's fortitude is a tanks most valuable asset. (CON gives +30 AP and HP per level)**

That felt like a very powerful passive especially for him considering his swordplay was lackluster at best. Besting opponents on sheer endurance sounded good to him for the time being. However, he would need to level up his sword proficiency quickly if he wanted to last at Beacon.

Unfortunately, now the cafeteria was beginning to fill as huntsman and huntresses alike dragged themselves into the cafeteria like a hive mind with one purpose, coffee. His opportunity to explore his new power dwindling Jaune turned his eyes to his inventory before everyone started to feel the effects of their coffee and discover him reading the air like a madman.

His inventory had a bit more than he expected, more lien than he'd seen in his life, a health potion that restored fifty health on use, and the last thing he saw in his inventory was.

**Grimm Essence: ?**

Reading that gave him the shivers, and ignoring the voice in the back of his head that told him to get rid of it Jaune moved on. Picking up an apple he had grabbed when he came in Jaune tried to 'put' it in his inventory using his mind. He only shrieked a little when said apple literally disappeared in his hands and became a line of text in his inventory. The implications of this discovery only plagued Jaune for moments before his mind wandered and he completely forgot what he was thinking about

Once Jaune's mind came back to the present he tried to do the reverse, although this time he put his hand up his shirt first for some cover. Then Jaune pulled the apple out of his inventory with his mind causing it to basically teleport into his hand (though it could also have been described as just a very fast phase into existence). Jaune poked the apple once then took a very tiny bite to make sure it was what it claimed to be still and found much to his relief that it was in fact an apple.

He would test the limits of his inventory later when he got some alone time. Looking at his Game display Jaune spit out his milk and started jogging towards the dorm seeing as class was beginning in 15 minutes.

Team JNPR sat quietly waiting for Professor Port's first lecture of the year to be over, the events leading up to their current position playing back violently in Jaune's mind.

Ren had been the easiest to wake up, the ninja's eyes opening the second Jaune opened the door as if he hadn't been asleep to begin with. Ren gave him a curt nod as he sat up and moved to get ready. Jaune noticed a distinct jolt in his movements as ren noticed the time.

Pyrrha came next slowly sitting up as she shook off her grogginess and remembered who and where she was. Once she finished remembering she started getting ready without prompt. Although a cough from Ren drew her attention as he gestured to an imaginary clock on his wrist, getting Pyrrha to match his speed when she checked the time on her scroll.

Nora just kept snoring and boy did that scare Jaune. Looking to Ren who shook his head furiously as Jaune approached Nora, causing Jaune to pause until he remembered that he was their team leader and he had to do this despite not knowing the rest of his team too well just yet. Jaune saw a notification for a new skill pop-up as he crouched down, but forced himself to ignore it as he tiptoed right up to Nora's bed. Reaching down slowly to try and shake the girl Jaune saw his danger sense go off, and then instantaneously the world flipped upside down. Jaune felt a weight against his back as his mouth tasted the carpet. Warm breath tickled the inside of his ear and Gamer's mind forced back the terror Jaune felt as Nora whispered.

"Only Ren wakes me up" And just like that it was over and Nora was up getting ready as if everything was normal.

Once everyone was ready Jaune called out. "A-Alright team! First team mission, not be late to class!" Nora cheered as Jaune opened the door and led his team out.

All in all, Aside from one of the most terrifying experiences of his life the morning hadn't gone too poorly. Jaune had organized his stats and figured out how inventory worked which was a win for him. Despite the impending sense of doom he got whenever Nora looked his way during class.

With class winding down Jaune figured he'd check what skill he got before flipped his world upside down literally.

**Sneak (Level 1): Right now a roaring Ursa could hear you trying to sneak up on it, continued use might help.**

He guessed he deserved that, considering stealth had never been his forte, but now he sat reading through his stats and skills to see if he could glean anything really. It hadn't taken long for him and everyone else to see what kind of teacher Port was. With everyone besides Pyrrha and Weiss tuning the portly man out as he droned on. Blake with her head in her book, Yang was just a ball of hair as she slept against the desk and Nora was following suit. Ruby was drawing something, and Ren could have been paying attention if Jaune hadn't noticed his pencil stop moving a couple minutes ago. For all his effort which amounted to zero Jaune had gained some levels in Grimm Identification, three to be precise, despite his utter lack of attention.

His mind wandered to the Grimm Essence in his inventory and his mind told him that capturing the essence shouldn't be possible as Grimm dissolve upon death. Chalking up that knowledge to his new levels he figured he'd ask if it was possible to capture something off the Grimm before it dissolved and raised his hand.

"Aha! Perfect mister Arc before I could even finish my question. I can appreciate a man with a bit of ambition, grab your weapons and get on down here." Cursing the Gods Jaune went to grab his weapons.

**Quest Accepted! Port's Surprise!**

**Defeat the Foe Port has in Store**

**Reward: EXP, Respect From Your Classmates, Skill Book**

**You have Lost Affiliation with Weiss!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!**

"Break a leg Jauney" Nora cried, although he had a small feeling she meant it literally.

"You can do this Jaune!" Pyrrha called out in support as Jaune tightened the straps on his armor and gave them a thumbs up. He stood at the center of the classroom and readied his weapons. He didn't want to give up that he had no clue what he had signed up for so he stood ready for anything to come out of the cage that Port had rolled out from seemingly nowhere.

With a booming laugh Port opened up the cage and Jaune immediately used Observe on it.

**Name: Boarbatusk**

**Title: Test Dummy**

**Level: 5**

**Strongest Stat: DEX**

Instantly Jaune knew he had to get the Boarbatusk flipped over as it's belly was unarmored opposed to the rest of its body which was like a castle. The beast chose to rudely interrupt his planning process and spin with a surprising amount of speed into his shield. Luckily he raised it in the nick of time. Jaune grunted as his arm threatened to buckle against the impressive amount of force the beast had generated in such a small space. Feeling the pressure mounting Jaune angled his shield so the Boarbatusk spun past him and into the wall.

He didn't have much time to gather his thoughts as the Boarbatusk began to spin again. Jaune readied his shield and as it barrelled towards him tried to shield bash it to stun it. His arm pushed his shield out and connected with its armored body which promptly ignored his strike and knocked Jaune back and onto the floor.

With his newfound perspective on the floor Jaune hatched a plan. Once the telltale sound of spinning began Jaune flipped his shield over so the tip was pointed towards his enemy and waited for the Grimm to get close before he flattened himself against the floor and created a makeshift ramp out of his shield. Once he felt its weight on his shield Jaune attempted to shield bash with all the strength he had and was met with success this time as the Boarbatusk went airborne. Wasting no time Jaune stood up quickly and pulled out Crocea Mors as the beast collided with the wall with a loud thud. Dazed and confused the Boarbatusk tried to get up, but Jaune sheathed his sword into its body with a squelch before it got the chance. A short squeal contained the last of its life before the body began dissolving as Port clapped along his team.

"A level of ingenuity fit for that of a team leader, impressive showing lad!" Port clapped Jaune's back as he finished which did more damage that the Boarbatusk had actually feeling his Aura dip from the blow.

**By fighting valiantly against the Boarbatusk you have gained +1 STR and CON.**

**Quest Complete!**

**Rewards Received!**

**Shield Bash has Leveled Up!**

**Shield Proficiency has Leveled Up!**

**Shield Proficiency has Leveled Up!**

**Sword Proficiency has Leveled Up!**

**Grimm Identification has Leveled Up!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Ruby!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Nora!**

**You have Gained Affiliation with Ren!**

As the game promised he gained experience bumping him to sixty percent towards his next level and the skill book which had piqued his interest when he saw that as a reward. It read in his inventory as.

**Skill Book: A Monk's Guide to Aura Enhanced Blows**

Definitely something he would have to check out later when he got a free moment. With the fight over Port dismissed the class allowing Jaune to indiscreetly scoop fifty lien into his inventory before making his way over to his team to head to the next class.

However before he could make it to his team Ruby caught up with him first. "That was so awesome! You were like... and then you were like... Then you ended it with a... That was such a cool idea too how did you come up with it." Providing exaggerated hand gestures as she spoke making Jaune chuckle as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Eh, I wish I had a cooler way of putting it, but that just sort of came to me because I was too slow to dodge and too weak to stop its charge fully Y'know?" Now it was Ruby's turn to laugh opening the door for him as they stepped into the hallway.

"My entire semblance is based around speed, so I don't really know what it's like to battle in slow motion like you do." Jaune sputtered for a moment before Ruby's face went beet red. "I-I'm not calling you slow, just my semblance is so fast it makes everything look slower if I'm a spectator."

Jaune waved her off as he used Observe on her. "Don't worry I know what you meant Ruby. Besides, my style isn't exactly known for utilizing speed so I take no offense." Ruby looked relieved at his response while he read what Observe brought up praying Ruby didn't ask about this non-existent style he had.

**Name: Ruby Rose**

**Title: Reaper**

**Level: 27**

**Strongest Stat: DEX**

Dex made sense seeing as Ruby was the fastest person he'd ever met, and that was before her semblance come into play. Most importantly he was now a high enough level to see his friends levels, or at least Ruby's, which was still a win in Jaune's book.

"Really good job Jaune!" Pyrrha started giving him a nudge with her shoulder as the rest of his team approached Ren and Nora giving him words of encouragement as well.

With a blush forming on his face Jaune waved them off. "It was nothing guys, it was just a single Grimm that couldn't even get to full speed. Who knows what would happen if we met in the Emerald Forest or an open field."

Ruby reinjected herself into the conversation here. "That's a great idea Jaune!"

"Meeting a Boarbatusk on an open field?" Ruby met him with an empty slap to the back of the head. "No you dummy, a training excursion to the Emerald Forest!" When Jaune thought about it he actually considered the possibility, it seemed like a good excuse to grind for experience as well as to bond with his team and their sister team at this point RWBY.

"Then let's do it guys!" Jaune looked to his team with Nora grinning like a madwomen alongside Ren and Pyrrha who gave a thumbs up. Jaune then moved his vision to the rest of RWBY which was only Blake and Yang with Blake shrugging and Yang snatching Ruby up into a headlock. "I'm sure Weiss wouldn't say no to more training either, so let's plan it, todays Wednesday so how does Friday after classes sound?"

Ruby took the lack of reaction as a yes and jumped next to Jaune. "Alright teams, Friday will begin Rubiper Fridays!" A collective groan was issued causing Ruby to quickly addend her declaration. "Jaune and I will be open to ideas on what to call our combined team name, but until then, break!"

Jaune slowed down a little bit before calling out to his team, "Yeah I'm actually gonna head to the gym real quick, I'll catch up to you guys for lunch." Pyrrha looked concerned for a second, why Jaune had no idea, but it was instantly washed away as she put on her gentle smile and called out that she'd save him a seat.

Before he went to the gym Jaune walked back to the boys locker room and moved his gear from his locker into his inventory. It made no sense to keep it where he wouldn't have constant access to it. After that he stopped by the room to grab some workout clothes, black athletic shorts and a white tee shirt, then finally made his way to the gym.

The gym was pretty empty for a school of huntsmen in training, although Jaune chalked it up to being the first week well actually more like the first hour. Though that wasn't to say it was empty, there was a girl with short brown hair on the treadmill and a huge hulk of a man sitting on a floor mat with his legs crossed in a pose of meditation if Jaune had to guess.

Jaune laughed at himself, he'd never gone to the gym seriously before. Sure his sisters would drag him every once in a while, but he would typically spend the whole time wishing he was back home playing video games. So now by himself Jaune figured he'd just do every workout he'd seen on television.

Beginning with the bench Jaune put thirty five pounds on each side adding that with the weight of the bar itself he approximated that he was trying just over a hundred pounds. The weight seemed a little high for him, but he figured The Game might have given him some extra strength. Jaune laid down under the bar and wrapped his fingers around the notch in the bar he guessed was where it wanted him to grip it. A grunt signaled that he had lifted it off its platform and Jaune began, finding it surprisingly easy completing ten reps before setting the bar back down. Jaune read the notification that read before his eyes.

**New Passive Unlocked!**

**Lifting (Passive) (Level 1): You can lift 10 times your STR modifier.**

A simple passive for a simple task Jaune smiled as he stood up adding the maximum weight so that the bar in total weighed one hundred sixty. Laying back down Jaune gave a determined grunt as he struggled to get the bar off the platform, dedicated to level up his new skill to level five to see what it would unlock for him.

Sweat covered his face as Jaune let the bar fall onto its resting place with a loud crash. He'd gone as long as he could, which was about ten minutes of sustained lifting, netting himself two Strength and one Constitution up on the way until his arms gave out and he finally reached level five in Lifting. Jaune read the skill again.

**Lifting (Passive) (Level 5): You can lift 15 times your STR modifier. Class Combat Passive: In desperate times you can lift up to 50 times your STR modifier when coming to the aid of someone in need.**

Now that was definitely an awesome ability to have considering his job is to fight giant monsters that weigh a ton. The Class ability he gained was also something to look into in his other passives considering that he didn't plan on training those skills because they wouldn't help him in combat. But with this development he might have to put some time aside in this fictional training schedule he kept talking about that only existed in his head.

After a couple minutes rest Jaune moved onto the treadmill, it felt like some kind of joke that endurance, something he definitely had the least of and hated the most before The Game was going to be his most critical stat for his class. Cursing whatever cosmic deity gave him this power Jaune turned on the treadmill and started running.

Despite Constitution being Jaune's highest stat with his title bonus he still got some good gains from his running session. Two more points in Constitution and Dexterity were his final totals as he flicked the machine off barely fighting off the feeling of jello in his legs trying to bring him to his knees.

Despite the ache he could already feel Jaune did push himself to do a couple more random workouts before he left the gym netting him another point in Strength for his troubles. Walking slowly as to appease his achy legs Jaune made his way to the cafeteria. Taking the longer way around so he could catch a bit of the cool air as well as allowing himself some more cooldown time after the pretty intense workout he put himself through.

As he walked about the grounds admiring the cobble walkways Jaune spotted the icy heiress ahead of him looking off into the distance. Jaune groaned internally, while he wasn't even on her team he knew a person who was lost in their own thoughts when he saw them. Knowing he might just get told off Jaune approached her anyways taking louder steps as he got closer to let her know he was coming up to her. When he got close enough Weiss turned around and a little scowl came over her face as she recognized him. He winced at the response and although he was tempted to turn around he bit his tongue and closed the gap between them.

"Penny for your thoughts Weiss?" Jaune withheld any nicknames opting to seem serious. Weiss in turn looked as if she had an insult queued up but decided against it as she sighed and turned away from Jaune to look over the cliffside.

"You're not exactly my first choice of who to talk to but I guess you'll have to do." Weiss turned back to look at Jaune. "All my life I've been taught and trained to be a leader, whether it be the SDC or here. Yet I get here, a child blows me up, and said child gets put as my leader." Weiss massaged her temple, "Surely Ozpin made a mistake I mean she's an immature child who desperately wants to prove herself."

Jaune shook his head. "Ruby" He started and when Weiss gave him a look he continued. "That 'immature child's' name is Ruby, Weiss so you should start by calling her that. I mean why would Ozpin make you the leader of three other people when you only respect people similar to you like Pyrrha. Sure Ruby has her flaws, but I'm sure we can both already see the compassion and heart she has despite how little we have known her, and the desperation you see? That's because of you, her own partner won't give her the respect she deserves, so she's trying desperately to get it."

Weiss paused for a moment before finding her resolve. "I see your point, but surely with all my training I was more qualified to lead." Finding a smirk as she felt she had a good comeback.

Jaune externally groaned this time putting another scowl on the heiress' face. "That's exactly why you aren't the leader Weiss. I know you can't see it yet, but if you go into being a leader thinking you already know everything you won't grow and you'll end up a stagnant team with the lowest skill ceiling possible. However, if you go into leading with an open mind willing to make mistakes and learn from them, then your limit will know no bounds."

**Passive Unlocked!**

**Rousing Speech (Passive): You can inspire others with your words. The higher the level of this skill, the more likely you will be listened to. (Level 1)**

Jaune dismissed the notification focusing on Weiss as her face twisted as she digested his words, Jaune didn't expect her to instantly change her morals and values. He hoped however that he was at least sowing the seed of discord in her mind that maybe the world isn't so black and white. Jaune turned around going to let the girl stew in his words, but before he left he gave her a few more to think over.

"I know it's the second day, but Ruby and everyone else seems special. You need to think about how spending the next four years in isolation would feel." With that Jaune walked away leaving Weiss to her own thoughts and the sounds of his footsteps slowly getting quieter as he walked away.

**There it is finally. Canon is shifting as you will definitely see more of in the next chapter I accelerated Weiss's conversation and also got rid of it partially as Jaune fought instead of her, it makes sense I promise . I want to keep this story interesting so a new yet not so new that it's disorienting plot is my plan, I'm currently running ideas through of what events are going to happen without suspending too much belief. That said the chapter itself is probably underwhelming and you're right. I had surgery a week ago (read months ago as I go back and edit this before finally releasing it) and it's impeded my ability to write more than usual as my typing speed is awful at full health. Hopefully soon I can try to get another chapter out. Finally thanks for reading, we hit 80 followers on two chapters, and the first chapter I might delete out of the story for how useless it is but I'm still debating that point. As always Fav, Follow, and Review and who knows, maybe next chapter I'll start reacting to User reviews at the bottom of the chapter.**


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